Assignment task: Please provide a one paragraph response to each of the following posts below:
1. Association is the connection between two or more variables. It is the relationship between two or more events, ideas, or people. It is used to explain the connection between two seemingly unrelated things. Association is usually established through empirical observation, and it can be used to infer the presence of a causal relationship between two variables. An example would be the risk of developing cancer after being a heavy smoker.
Causation means that the exposure produces the effect. It can be the presence of an adverse exposure such as an increased risk of breathing in second hand smoke or using illicit drugs while working in a coal mine. Causative factors can also be the absence of preventative exposure, such as not wearing a seatbelt while riding in a car or not exercising.
A cause must be associated with the outcome, but it is not enough to just demonstrate an association, it is important to review evidence that suggests a casual relationship and consider all other criteria. If there are other factors that could explain the association, then it is less likely to be a true causal relationship. Another factor for defining causality is the temporal link between the cause and the consequence. It is far more likely that the cause is what led to the effect if the cause was present before it.
2. The association is the connection between two variables, the exposure and the disease. When they both are connected they can reflect a casual relationship. An example of this would be cigarette smoking and cancer of the pancreas, those who smoke cigarettes have a higher chance of being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer than those who do not smoke. Casulaity is when one variable causes changes in the other variable. An example of this would be physical activity and colon cancer. If it is causal then increasing physical activity will help reduce the chances of colon cancer. Casualty occurs when x and y are introduced to each other. The difference between the two is that association is the connection of the two variables as for causality one variable is leading to the other variable. There are 9 major criteria for characterizing association and causality; Temporal relationship, the strength of association, dose-response relationship, replication of the finding, biological possibility, consideration of alternate explanations, cessation of exposure, consistency with other knowledge, and specificity of the association.